Many people have given me feedback that batteries nowadays are becoming less and less durable. Previously, according to normal usage of two and a half to three years, this lifespan was relatively normal. Why has the battery of electric vehicles become less durable and can no longer be used for a year and a half to two years since the beginning of these two years?

Some people can't figure out whether such a battery is of poor quality, or if the manufacturer has added fewer elements and the lifespan is not as long as before, or if it is using recycled lead?

Today, let's share our experience in repairing with everyone and take a look together.

What are the commonly used batteries in the market

In recent years, the most commonly used batteries in the market are types such as AMD, Tenergy, Jingqiu, Xupai, and Haibao.

There are also circulating batteries such as Liban, Nandu, Wanhao Wanjia, Yaheng, Xingheng, Panasonic, Jinri Chao, and so on.

The battery brands with high popularity and high sales in each region of the country are different. From the overall data of the country, the first category has the highest sales. After all, these battery brands have been on the market for a relatively long time, have a wide reputation, are widely recognized by many people, and rank among the top in terms of sales volume.

02. What are the reasons why batteries are not durable

Everyone has noticed a problem that the batteries used now, whether they are the original ones or those replaced by other stores, are not as durable as before. This factor is crucial.

There are several reasons for the shortened service life of batteries: one is that the internal materials of the battery have changed, and lead-acid batteries do not allow the addition of cadmium.

Not adding cadmium can lead to a decrease in the service life and stability of lead-acid batteries, but cadmium can cause serious pollution to the environment and is an element that needs to be strictly restricted.

As early as 2012, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, industry associations, etc. formulated the "Access Conditions for Lead Acid Battery Industry", which clearly stipulated that the production capacity of lead-acid batteries and their lead containing components with cadmium content higher than 0.002% or arsenic content higher than 0.1% should be eliminated before December 31, 2013. All battery companies strictly comply with national regulations, and batteries produced after 2014 meet national standards. The cadmium and arsenic content in batteries is strictly controlled, and some companies even introduce batteries completely free of cadmium and arsenic.

By 2017, all manufacturers will have fully launched cadmium arsenic free batteries, and the shortened lifespan of batteries is one of the reasons.

The second type is battery weight reduction, whether it is Tianneng, Chaowei, Haibao, Jingqiu, Haibao, etc., all electric vehicle batteries have been reduced in weight.

What is weight loss? The materials used inside each battery are reduced.

For example, before the weight of a regular premium battery is reduced, the weight of a battery is between 7.1 and 7.2 kilograms, and the two narrow sides of the battery are flat.

Take out two batteries with different production years, one is 15 years old and the other is 20 years old. From the outside, the narrow sides of batteries produced in 2015 are relatively flat, making them heavier when lifted. Batteries produced in 2020 have slots on both sides, with a gap of 3-4 centimeters when the slots are closed, and a gap of 6-7 millimeters on both sides. This reduces the amount of material used internally.

In this way, two lead plates are missing, and there are about five or six pages of lead plates on top of one grid. This is missing two lead plates. Generally speaking, it means that there is less weight on one lead plate. The weight of a single battery now is only 5.6-6 kilograms. Comparing two batteries from different periods, there is a slight weight deviation between the two, which is the reason for the poor durability of electric vehicles.

As for battery life, the difference between each set of batteries is approximately 2-3 kilograms, and the difference in battery life between the two periods of production is not significant.

As for the lifespan, it can be proven by the thickness of the lead plate. The lower the weight of the battery lead plate, the lower the lead content, and the lower the density of the lead plate, which makes it more prone to damage and is also the reason for the reduced lifespan of the battery.

The amount of regenerated lead added in the third type determines the reduction in battery life; Take back all electric vehicle batteries and extract them through renewable resource processing, melt them to make lead oxide, and then use lead plates to make batteries.

The density and utilization efficiency of primary lead and recycled lead may be slightly lower. Firstly, there are impurities in the recycling of lead, which will reduce its effectiveness. Due to repeated recycling, melting, and refining into lead plates, its impurities will increase and its effectiveness will be further reduced, resulting in a certain degree of gap compared to native lead.

The increase in lead recycling from new battery lead plates will have a certain impact on the service life of batteries. Manufacturers consider that there is a significant price difference between raw lead and recycled lead, which may lead to an increase or decrease in usage. This is also another reason for the reduced lifespan of batteries.

These are some reasons summarized through our years of experience in repairing cars and using batteries, hoping to give everyone an explanation. Relatively speaking, the replacement price of batteries has also been reduced by nearly half compared to before. The highest replacement price for 60V20Ah batteries was around 700 yuan, and now a set of replacement prices is around 400 yuan. This comparison can be seen clearly by everyone.

Alright, today I have provided an explanation of the reasons for reducing the lifespan of batteries, which can help car owners understand the reasons for battery changes and the final results. Although the lifespan of the battery has been reduced and its selling price has also decreased, it is not a big loss for everyone.